Carlton Group ranks top among NYC investment sale brokerages

Carlton’s Howard Michaels

Howard Michaels‘ Carlton Group has reached the number one spot among New York City office investment sales brokerages for the first time thanks to demand for recapitalizations, the New York Post reported.

Carlton ranked number six nationally for the first half of the year based on $1.1 billion in total volume of debt and equity financings. Eastdil Secured came in at number one with over $4 billion.

Carlton’s New York figures are due to three local recaps valued at $1.1 billion — at 1 Park Avenue, 1180 Sixth Avenue and 450 West 33rd Street, according to the Post.

“Typically, recaps haven’t been recognized as investment sales, but they’re the exact same art,” Michaels said.

With $850 billion in commercial mortgages due to mature by the end of the year, according to CoStar Group, Michaels anticipates even more demand for recaps, “due to the widening out of spreads in the CMBS market, which is lowering loan levels, and the sluggish economy.”

Earlier this year, it was reported that the Carlton Group is expanding into Europe in an effort to become a bigger player overseas. [Post]